Welcome to the Mr. Local History Project
“A 501c3 Non-Profit Dedicated to Preserving and Promoting Jersey History with a Social Twist”
The Mr. Local History Project brings New Jersey’s past into the present through the stories of real places, real people, and real communities. Focused especially on New Jersey history, the project celebrates local history in a way that feels personal, engaging, and relevant- not something locked away in textbooks, but history that lives where we live. As we head into 2026, the 250th anniversary of the United States, Mr. Local History is turning history into a shared experience. With a social twist, this is about connecting online and in the community, sharing memories, spotlighting hometown stories, and honoring New Jersey’s outsized role in America’s founding. It is history you can explore, share, and be part of together.
Today in America’s History (We Update Every Day)
- 1739: Stono Rebellion, the largest slave uprising in Britain's mainland North American colonies prior to the American Revolution, erupts near Charleston, South Carolina.
- 1776: The Continental Congress officially names its union of states the United States.
- 1850: The Compromise of 1850 transfers a third of Texas's claimed territory to federal control in return for the U.S. federal government assuming $10 million of Texas's pre-annexation debt.
- 1850: California is admitted as the thirty-first U.S. state.
- 1965: The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development is established.
- 1966: The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act is signed into law by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.
What Can You Do Today to Celebrate America’s 250th?
Our Readers’ Top 10 MLH Posts this Week
Latest Posts
25 of New Jersey’s Oldest Taverns & Inns Still Serving Today
Views: 103 Eating Your Way Through New Jersey History Long before New Jersey had diners, highways, turnpikes, or even became a state, the local tavern often served as the center of community life. These were places where a traveler could…
Native American Trails History In Northern New Jersey
Views: 152 Long before anyone divided North and Central Jersey, Native American people lived, hunted, farmed, and traveled throughout the region. Archaeological evidence shows an Indigenous presence in New Jersey extending back more than 10,000 years. When Europeans arrived during…
Day Trips – Four Historic New Jersey Fall Locations You Must See
Views: 9,841 The 2026 Fall Foliage Map is the ultimate visual planning guide to the annual progression of leaf change. While no tool can be 100% accurate, this tool is designed to help travelers better time their trips to maximize their chances…
Fall Is In the Air – So Much to Do and See in Mr. Local History’s 2026 Fall Magazine
Views: 417 Fall in New Jersey is more than colorful leaves, crisp mornings, and roadside farm stands; it is a season filled with great history and stories. In this issue, the Mr. Local History research team travels from the historic…
So What Defines Peapack Village from Gladstone’s Village
Views: 408 Certainly, everyone knows when they’re in Peapack and when they’re in Gladstone, right? First off, a little clarification: the “Established 1701” on the borough’s sign date refers to the Peapack Patent, when the land encompassing present-day Peapack-Gladstone was…
A Historic Boardwalk on Jersey’s Lake Mohawk
Views: 223 Just when you think you know everything about New Jersey, the state pulls another surprise from its seemingly bottomless bag of tricks. We already have ocean beaches, mountains, waterfalls, sprawling farms, colonial villages, busy cities, and some of…
Bardy Farms: From a Russian Immigrant’s Fields to a Somerset County Farming Dynasty
Views: 826 Walk into Bardy Farms on Washington Valley Road in Warren Township, and you are entering one of New Jersey’s increasingly rare family farm businesses. Fresh produce still fills the market, plants crowd the greenhouses in Spring, pumpkins arrive…
Then & Now: Post 9/11-Somerset Hills Family, Friends and Neighbors & Their Legacy
Views: 34,188 Twenty-five years ago on September 11, 2001, we lost friends, family, neighbors, and loved ones in a tragedy that changed our nation forever. Their absence is felt every day, yet in the years since that heartbreaking morning, we…
“The Frippery” Thrift Store Extraordinaire is a Watchung Historic Gem
Views: 317 For Over Half a Century, the Frippery is Watchung’s Original Treasure Hunt Long before thrift shopping became trendy, generations of bargain hunters were already climbing the stairs and rummaging through the shelves at one of Watchung’s best-known hidden…
Washington’s Rev War Fortress – It Was New Jersey Itself
Views: 358 Washington Didn’t Build His Fortress. New Jersey Did. So we start by coining a phrase, one that defines what we think Washington knew all along. A geological fortress is not an artificial fort of stone walls, towers, and…
Donate Today and Get a Great Gift: 2026 US Mint RevWar 250 Quarters Collectible Set
Views: 304 Minimum donation: $25, but feel free to donate at any of the levels below. Your contribution is TAX DEDUCTIBLE. We only have a limited supply of these great keepsakes, so act fast. First come, first served, while supplies…
Our Fall 2026 Magazine is HERE!
Full of great local Jersey History to keep you on the edge of your history seat.
Special Edition – America’s 250th The SEMI-QUIN-CENTENNIAL is HERE!
See our special digital magazine. Full of great local Jersey History.
